Prologue to Something Found
by LissAngel
Summary: All the characters, this is a prologue to the fan fic I am currently writing. Set after the BDM, the explination why Wash is alive comes in another story I'm writing.


"I don't believe you!" Kaylee's voice sounded with the barely contained laughter she was holding back. A fist full of cars splayed out before her, she looked from what she had, up to the face of the mercenary hiding behind his hand.

The large man let out a quiet chuckle, "you calling me out, little girl?" Jayne was hiding behind a confident smirk.

This brought laughter from those who had been in the card game, but were put out by the two remaining players. It was a quiet time between jobs and the crew of Serenity was using it to get out of a few of the chores that piled up around the ship. Betting for chores, or for lack of chores, just made the time pass a little more quickly

Around the table, different faces were telling Kaylee different things; Simon's was telling her that he was disappointed that he hadn't gotten rid of any chores, Zoe's face was telling her that she was right to call Jayne out, and Wash's face was telling her… well that he was enjoying that plate of mush he was eating. Finding no Inara to look on next gave her a little pang of sorrow; how Kaylee would miss the companion. The momentary pain was washed away at the sight of Zoe leaning over to give her husband a kiss to the cheek. Their love was powerfully warming to the mechanic.

"That's right! I am! I don't think you got any at all. I think you're a big fat fibber!" She declared, and grinned toward Zoe who only nodded, as if assuring her that she was right.

Jayne wore the confidence for a short while longer before slamming his cards on the table and cursing softly under his breath, "gorram it. Zoe! I saw you was helpin' her all along!"

The young mechanic reached over and pulled the pile of little slips of paper toward her. Each little prize was written on it a chore that she would be able to get out of now that she'd won the whole game. "Ha! I win! No septic vac for me!"

"Well, ain't that fancy for you? Looks like it's Jayne's turn next then, m?" Malcolm Reynolds stepped around from the kitchen to the table, to stand behind Kaylee and her pile of winnings. With a chuckle, the Captain came to sit down next to his Mechanic and sipped from a mug of tea that he'd brewed up after he'd been pushed out of the game himself.

Jayne lifted his eyes up in a glare toward the Captain, before he got up and started to stomp off toward the stairs that lead down to the cargo hold, muttering curses in Mandarin the entire way. That drew laughter from the rest of the audience around the table.

"So, we got word on that job, sir?" Zoe asked as she looked up from Wash at her side.

Mal looked up, chuckling a bit after Jayne had left the table, "looks to me we'll be heading to Lilac, there's a downed ship that needs salvaging."

"Downed ship? Any survivors?" Wash asked, mouth half full as he looked up from his plate, fork dangling from his fingers.

"Been downed a while, if there were survivors, pretty sure they're gone from there by now," Mal responded, though that hadn't been something he'd thought to ask about. "So, soon as you're done fillin' your face, ya might think about getting' us on our way."

Wash smirked some, but as he rose, he paused to lay a kiss on his wife's cheek, "I'm goin', I'm goin'…" he said, though there was humor in his voice as he went.

A few moments after Wash left, Zoe turned to Malcolm with a brow lifted, "you didn't ask about any survivors, did you sir?"

"No, I surely didn't," he replied and let out a laugh.

Somehow, Zoe knew the answer to that, though it drew a chuckle out of her none the less. "Any clue as to how long it's been downed?"

A smirk slipped along Malcolm's features, though he waited until he sipped his tea to answer her, "not a clue at all."

"As usual, this is going to be a flawless job again, won't it?" Zoe stood up from the table and started off toward the front of the ship, hoping to be able to spend a little quiet time with Wash after he'd set the navsat trajectory.

"Ain't it the way it always goes?" He muttered to himself before taking yet another sip of tea.

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Lilac, properly named for its appearance, came a fuzzy dot first, but as they approached, the shape and color of it got more defined and recognizable. River watched as the planet came closer in the windows from the bridge. Her fingers hovered over one of the dinosaurs perched on the console in front of Wash.

"Now that one'll bite your fingers off without thinking, he ain't as fluffy as he looks," the pilot said with a slight chuckle.

"The triceratops was an herbivore," the girl said without looking toward Wash. Her gaze remained on the planet below and she shook her head. "He's not taking into consideration all the variations. These things aren't so simple. Not so simple."

"Never is," Wash said with a smirk, and then frowned as he noticed something a little off. He grabbed the coms. "Mal, ya might wanna get up here, somethin' ain't right down there."

"Fire's burning. One and one and one don't make four." River said, before turning to rush down the stairs and past the captain, before pausing to look at Mal. "Something lost, is found."

Malcolm paused to scratch his head at that bit of info, but pushed on past toward the bridge, "what's the problem?" Looking past the pilot to the planet surface, and a frown crinkled his brow.

"Seems to be the cr—" Wash began.

Mal interrupted, "should an old crash be smoking like that?"

"Not likely to be that old," the pilot pointed out. "Though, not likely to be the crash, but the town it crashed into."

"Any life about?" Mal asked with a frown, as he turned toward the door again.

Wash shook his head, "can't tell."

"Set us down right cozy to the crash site, wanna be in and out, less complications." He said, as he started down the stairs into the hall.

"Right, less complications, ain't that just the ideal thought?" With a smirk, Wash set about guiding the ship down to land.


End file.
